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Ye talks about co-parenting with Kim Kardashian, fatherhood, Donda Academy and more

September 22, 2022

Ye said he has “a newfound respect” for ex-wife Kim Kardashian and feels pain for causing stress in the relationship since Kardashian filed for divorce in February 2021.

“She is the mother of my children, and I apologize for all the stress I have caused, even in my frustration, because God is calling me to be stronger,” said Ye, the artist and entrepreneur formerly known as Kanye West, in an exclusive morning interview that aired Thursday on “Good Morning America.” “I need that person to be less stressed and to be the best, sane and calm person possible so I can raise these kids at the end of the day.”

In an extensive interview that covered Donda Academy, a school he founded in California, about his plans to run for president again, Ye repeatedly spoke about the responsibility he has as a celebrity. and on his insistence on having a say in the future of the four children he fathered with the global social media and reality TV star.

“As a father and as a Christian. And I have the right to have a voice in what my children wear, what they watch, what they eat,” he said. “I have a platform where I can say what so many dads can’t say out loud.”

Watch more on ABC News Live tonight at 7 p.m. ET and tonight on “Nightline.”

“A Conversation with Ye: Linsey Davis Reporting,” a half-hour special on ABC News Live, airs at 8:30 p.m. ET and airs later on Hulu.

VIDEO: Ye opens up about battle with Gap, co-parenting in morning exclusive

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Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, spoke to ABC News’ Linsey Davis about Kim Kardashian, fatherhood, social media, fashion, politics and Donda Academy.

Relationship with his children

Ye said he “absolutely” wanted his children to attend Donda Academy, “a gospel school” he started named after Donda West, his late mother who chaired the department of English, Communications, D Media Arts and Theater at Chicago State University on Chicago’s South Side. . She died in 2007.

“I’m their father. It has to be co-parenting. It’s not just up to the woman. For example, men also have a choice. Men’s voices matter,” he said.

The private school, which Ye said was originally called Yeezy Christian Academy, is located in Simi Valley, California. According to the school’s website, the academy’s mission is to help students “learn the fundamentals, grow in their faith, and experience two enrichment courses.”

Ye said the school gives “kids the practical tools they need in a world after the iPhone was created.” He said the school is in its third year and has an enrollment of 82 students.

‘So many schools are made to train kids for industries that don’t even matter anymore,’ he said, pointing out that the school’s focus areas are ‘on practical skills’. such as engineering, computer programming and agriculture. He added that the school has tutors who focus on specific areas and could “turn your kids into geniuses”.

“And if your kids are geniuses…they’re three levels ahead,” he added.

Ye told ABC News that he hired a female basketball coach to help improve the skills of his 9-year-old daughter North. He also helps North’s coach “every morning”, he said. The effort, Ye added, has shown dramatic results. “She trained every day and I really stuck with her. And when she came back she was confident,” he said.

Get out of the gap

Ye, who founded fashion brand Yeezy, also spoke about dissolving his partnership with Gap. Ye last week sent Gap a letter ending the 10-year partnership, claiming the clothing retailer had breached its contract to sell its Yeezy Gap clothing line. Ye said he plans to open his own line of stores simply called YZY.

Mark Breitbard, president and CEO of the Gap brand, said the company and West are “not aligned” in how they work together, according to a memo sent to employees and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. “Put simply…while we share a vision, the way we work together to achieve that vision is misaligned,” Breitbard wrote, according to the Journal.

It was kind of a disregard for the voice of something that I co-created.

In addition to criticizing Gap, Ye recently criticized Adidas, a retailer that sells his clothes. Ye has been working with the sports brand since announcing their partnership in 2016, but went after Adidas when the brand released its Adilette 22 sandals, which resemble Ye’s Yeezy slides. Ye called their shoes “a fake Yeezy.”

“It was kind of a disregard for the voice of something that I co-created. I co-created the product at Adidas. I co-created the product at Gap,” Ye said.

“It means I was there for a specific program, not for Yeezy Gap to be all it could be, or this dream I had of what Gap could be,” he said. “It’s time for me to create my own thing.”

Adidas chief executive Kasper Rorsted said in August that West was probably the company’s most important partner, according to The Wall Street Journal. Adidas is trying to find a way to continue the partnership, the newspaper reported.

Since his ongoing battle with Adidas, Ye said he was determined to find out more about what goes on behind the scenes at his brand.

“We had to level up,” Ye said. “Really show them who the new boss in town is, that I’m the boss of me. I’m not just the man riding the polo horse anymore. I’m not just a mascot in the middle of the games, make the crowd go, “Hey, wear this, do this,” but you know, just learn financial engineering. Learn how to – learn how to really run a business.

Ye added that he plans to go ahead with a fashion show on October 3 in Paris which was originally planned in collaboration with the Gap. He found a new producer for the event, he said, via Instagram.

Today, YZY Gap designed by Balenciaga announced a new line of outerwear and knitwear, which will be available online. YZY Gap designed by Balenciaga also announced that YZY Gap will be available in stores outside of the United States for the first time at Gap flagship stores in Tokyo and Shanghai.

Potentially another presidential race

In November 2020, Ye conceded his candidacy for the presidency. He had loaned $6.8 million to his 2020 presidential committee, essentially self-funding his campaign in the first month and a half of his run, according to a Federal Election Commission disclosure filing.

Ye said he “absolutely” plans to run for president again, but did not say when.

“That time was not in God’s time,” he said.

Ye said he is often misunderstood due to his inflexibility towards his Christian faith, which leads him to perform the “Sunday Service” with a gospel choir at different locations in the United States. He said he was a “radical” for wanting to promote the “idea of family”. , the idea of God, the idea of protecting the innocence of your children as long as possible.”

“When you remove the love and fear of God, you open up the love and fear of everything else. And it’s easier to have sheep when people don’t have God. It’s easier to control people if people are not controlled by God because then they can be controlled by the number of likes they have or whatever happens on their TikTok or the amount of money or the perception that people people have,” he said.

“But we only have one audience here, and that audience is God. And He’s watching us all the time,” Ye said. “He supports me.”